


lost divinity in disguise

by blackkat



Series: Horoscope Drabbles [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 17:04:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17248070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: In the torn husk of the reactor, something moves.





	lost divinity in disguise

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Normal Horoscopes over on Tumblr: 
> 
> Capricorn: Even the oldest residents didnt know what powered the great reactor until it tore itself from the cooling pool, spewing a sea of molten metal.

“Tend to the reactor,” Konan mutters angrily, even as she throws the door shut and bolts it from the inside. “Tend to it, be _gentle_ to it, it’s ancient, no one _knows_ how it works, _ugh_.” She punches in her code, making sure that Yahiko or Nagato won't be able to come after her once they get done evacuating the complex, then runs for the next door, locks that as well. “Maybe if we’d actually _studied_ the damn thing _like I said we should_ , this wouldn’t be _happening_.”

The third door in the corridor is heavy steel, at least a foot thick, and not properly balanced, since it’s been decades since anyone bothered with it even during a safety drill. Konan grits her teeth, puts every last ounce of her strength behind the motion, and heaves it shut, then spins the wheel to lock it in place. She can already feel the heat from up ahead, can hear other warning alarms baring beneath the ear-splitting evacuation claxon. Hopefully it will be enough to get people out of the building, _maybe_ it will be enough, but no one knows how the reactor works, what produces the energy that powers the city around them. They’ve never bothered to look into it, for fear of damaging the reactor, and doesn’t think she’s ever been so angry about it.

The heat has her stripping off her containment suit as she bursts into the antechamber, shoving heavy cloth down around her waist and tossing her gloves. This is already a suicide mission; she has no idea how to shut the reactor off, or fix the instability in its core. There's some vague hope that she can repair the containment system, get it back online before the reactor blows, but that’s slim at best.

Konan has to _try_ , though. There's nothing in her that can just walk away when her family is in danger.

She bursts into the main chamber at a flat run, barely able to breathe through the heat. The air swims, muggy-hot, and the water of the containment pool is boiling. Fury and terror in equal parts are sharp on Konan's tongue, and she catches herself as she staggers, keeps moving—

The reactor _moves_.

A cry tears itself from Konan's throat as the massive metal structure tears itself free of its moorings, its hull splitting even though it’s harder than any other material in existence. A flood of molten metal pours out, and in an instant the containment pool has erupted into steam, all its water gone. Konan goes to throw herself forward, one last, desperate attempt to reach the control room, but a wash of slag pours across the catwalk, devouring it in an instant, and Konan recoils with a hiss. There's no way back, either, no option to retreat; the slag is creeping over that side as well, and Konan has to leap for an observation platform as the molten metal closes in. She manages to grab the struts, hauls herself up and onto the half-moon of grating, and flattens her back against the locked door leading to it, cursing herself.

Too late, too slow. She _might_ be able to crawl along the tubing lining the wall, but one misstep and there won't be another chance.

And then, in the torn husk of the reactor, something moves.

“Oh, my,” a woman’s voice says, mildly surprised, and a hand with long red nails settles on an edge of torn metal. “Did _I_ cause this mess?”

It _is_ a woman, stepping out of the reactor like most people would step out of an elevator, apparently unbothered by the molten metal washing over her feet. Her hair is a fall like fire, deep auburn-red, and her eyes are bright and green as they settle on Konan without pause.

“Oh,” she says, and smiles like a lioness. “Have the humans started leaving sacrifices for me again? I have to say, you're a lot prettier than the last few. And you scream less, too.”

Konan kind of wants to bury her face in her hands. A _goddess_. There was a _goddess_ in the reactor and they’ve been using her to power the city and now she’s awake and a _goddess_.

If she gets out of this, Nagato and Yahiko are never going to believe her.

“I don’t think _sacrifice_ is the way I would phrase it,” she says, even though it’s technically more accurate than she would like. “Were you asleep in there?”

The woman glances back at the reactor, mildly interested, and then returns her gaze to Konan. Three long steps bring her to the edge of the containment pool, and the slag under her feet rises, carrying her up. More rises to meet her feet as she steps forward, and Konan can't quite breathe for the way the light of the molten metal dances over her skin.

“Living for centuries can be so boring without someone to occupy me,” she purrs, leaning in, and one red-tipped finger tips Konan's chin up. “Are you sure you're not a sacrifice to me? I can try to change your mind, if you're not.”

Konan shivers, licks her lips. “Tired of people getting tossed into volcanoes for you?” she asks, and her voice comes out rough.

The woman laughs, pulling back. “You know me,” she says, pleased.

It’s hard to forget the goddess who raised their nation from the sea, who’s worshiped at every active volcano and prayed to very time someone lights a fire. “Mei,” Konan says, and as if in confirmation Mei cups her face in her hands and leans in, that long mane of fiery hair falling around them in shroud. It’s impossibly soft against Konan's skin, dragging over her arms, and this time her shiver is deeper, makes heat curl in her stomach to match what she can feel radiating off Mei's skin.

“Well?” Mei asks, and that smile is a dare and a promise all in one. “Do you worship me, sweetheart?”

 _Who wouldn’t_ , Konan almost says, but the words are less important than reaching out, pulling Mei into a kiss that makes her melt, and Konan can say them later.


End file.
